How did it turn out this way?
Her thumbs hooked into the pockets of her jeans. She asked herself that exact question all the time - everyone did, nowadays. Or at least, everyone left.
She was certain her name was still Anise. She'd written it on her palm, just so she wouldn't forget it, on the off chance that she ran into somebody. Man, wouldn't that be a breath of fresh air? Lord knows she could use one right about now.
How did it turn out this way? The consensus was one word: apocalypse. Maybe the sun itself had grown too hot, and singed the very skin of the Earth. Or perhaps, the bubbling magma below boiled over and baked the planet from the inside out. All Anise needed to know was that it was as hot as Hell.
Words she'd heard far too long ago had told her to travel west, though her sense of direction was... lacking. Which way does the sun rise, again? Actually, where is the sun? It was impossible to spot through the thick cloud of dust that loomed over the planet. Piecing together hints from road signs and graffiti, Anise traveled in a direction she believed was west.
That led her to where she was now. Through the shimmering desert air, she thought she could see something. A town, hopefully. She'd seen a few of those before. Usually ransacked. Not by her, of course - she's always beaten to the punch and left to gather up the years-stale crumbs of bread. But this town was different. If she was lucky, then she was exactly where she needed to be.
The town's real name fell out of style long ago; it wasn't representative of what the town meant to a lot of people. The Stragglers have given it a different name, both for its reputation and out of respect.
The Hub.
